Investigation finds Western equipment still flowing to Rosneft’s Vostok Oil project — and Putin’s unofficial father-in-law is benefitting
Companies linked to Western oilfield service firms continued supplying equipment and providing services to Rosneft’s Vostok Oil project after Russia\ international corporations withdrew from the Russian market following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a new joint report has found. The outlets Arctida , an investigative project focused on the Russian Arctic, and Sistema , an…
A recent joint report from Arctida and Sistema, two investigative outlets, revealed ongoing Western equipment deliveries to Rosneft's Vostok Oil project in the Russian Arctic, despite foreign oilfield service companies withdrawing from the country following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The report specifically highlighted Marat Kabaev, the father of former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva and widely believed to be one of Vladimir Putin's children, as being involved in the process.
Putin officially launched the Vostok Oil project on September 5 with the first oil shipment, calling it a "landmark event" for the Arctic region and Russia. Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin claims all equipment used at the project is manufactured in Russia, with total investment reaching 4 trillion rubles ($47.3 billion).
However, the investigation found that foreign oilfield service companies' former subsidiaries in Russia continued receiving payments from the project. For instance, OFS Technologies (formerly Baker Hughes) received over 13.6 billion rubles ($161 million) from 2023 to mid-2026, and Halliburton's Russian subsidiary Burservice LLC received more than 8 billion rubles ($94.7 million) during the same period.
Weatherford and Schlumberger, now known as SLB, also suspended new investments and deliveries to Russia but still transferred payments to related entities. SLB's Russian subsidiary imported about 5.7 billion rubles ($67.5 million) worth of high-tech equipment from China and India between 2024 and 2025.
Marat Kabaev acquired a 25% stake in Taimyr Invest LLC, a major contractor handling logistics for Vostok Oil, in early 2026. Taimyr Invest received nearly 200 million rubles ($2.4 million) directly from Vostok Oil between 2024 and 2026, with its main source of revenue being Sinarastroikomplekt, a private contractor linked to billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky.
Sinarastroikomplekt received almost 900 billion rubles ($10.6 billion) from Vostok Oil between 2021 and 2026, primarily for supplying metal products to the project, including pipes.
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